INTERVIEW: A Chat With Jaime Preciado From Pierce The Veil

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Before Pierce The Veil launch into their Aussie shows, I had the chance to chat to bassist Jaime Preciado all things 'Circles', their latest album, and touring around Australia. To catch them on the road, scroll down for dates.

Emily: Well firstly, congratulations on your release of 'Misadventures' earlier in the year. It has done so well getting to number one on Billboards Alternative rock, hard rock and independent charts. How does it feel knowing that you are just getting bigger and bigger?Jaime: Yeah thank you! It's definitely a surprise. At one point we didn't know if we were even going to be able to finish it, and just the fact that it's finally done, and people received it the way they did, it makes you thankful for all the work we put into it, that you did it for a reason. Were excited and very fortunate that we are where we are at!The aim for this album was to deliver beyond all expectations, and you have defiantly done that in Australia, reaching number twelve on the Australian Aria charts, making 2016 the biggest year you have had yet. Is it just the best feeling ever?Yeah! I mean we have the same feeling with every album, we wanna try and do bigger things, accomplish more, and I think with this record it is going to take us to a different place. Having a little bit of radio play has been insane for us. Were just embracing it all and were super excited.You have just completed a sold out US tour, and you got to perform your latest single 'Circles' on Conan. Can you tell me more about those experiences?We had a very ambitious tour, to play the new record in it's entirety, and we didn't know how that was going to go. But it turned out great, the hole tour sold out and it was fun. It was great playing songs that we have never played live before, and it was something crazy new for us. And then the Conan experience was a new one for us as well, and that hole experience was amazing. He is such a great guy, and I feel like he is one of my best friends! He is just so good at talking! (laughs) How did the video for 'Circles' come about?We were just kind of brain storming it and we got inspired by an old movie that we all liked back when we were younger. This kind of crazy, fun house place that you have to get out of and it represented the song in more of a positive way and kept it our style, kinda fun. And having Matt Pinfield, who is a big deal, it was like a dream for us!

What has been your favourite Pierce The Veil music video to film?Honestly I like the one where it is just live footage, it brings the viewer in and gives a glimpse of what our live shows are actually like and the madness that goes on. I think we did one for our song 'Hell above' and that was just a gritty, live tour video. So yeah I like those types of videos!Going back to the album do you have a favourite track from it?It depends on when you are asking...it changes every other day. Um, I have been coming back to the song, which is track 9 I believe, 'Bedless'. Especially after playing it live! It's such a groovy song for us, which isn't our style at all, but its just a cool vibe, makes me feel like I'm driving down the highway with the sun going down (laughs) just hanging, you know?Cool! And so sound wise, how would you say that you guys have evolved?Oh man! It's funny that you say that, we were watching old videos of us, doing some research for upcoming tours and just seeing how we were acting and how we were playing. I think its all a learning curve, and we are still learning a lot of things. And I am excited to see after this tour just how much we will grow. But we will keep it fun, keep it punk rock! You are touring around Australia all this month and have had to add two extra shows in Melbourne. Do you love getting that type of recognition from the other side of the world?Yeah! I mean when they told us that we had to add a couple of extra shows, it makes you feel really good, it's all new territory for us. We all want to be making new music and playing shows every night, but the main thing is that the kids are coming to the shows and keeping us there and keeping us a band. And so now we have three shows in Melbourne? Geez, yeah we haven't done that anywhere else in the world! Definitely going to be crazy!Awesome! You are going to be doing all ages shows in most states around Australia, is this an important thing to do for you guys? Making sure that everyone gets to experience you?Yeah, well the first time we went to Australia we didn't know that that was a thing, that you had to separate everyone. But I think it is important to play for anyone who wants to see you play. And so what do you look forward to doing when you do come back to Australia?Just being surrounded by everyone. You guys, Australians, are so kind and so amazing to be around. Just to hang out with a lot of our friends, bands like the Amity Affliction and Hands Like Houses, we see on the road a lot, so it will be kinda cool to be on their home turf. But yeah it's just a cool place, and I'm going, being honest, it's one of my favourite places to go ever! Great! What is your next stop after coming to Australia?We're doing a full headline tour of the States. We're going to be busy! A busy group of dudes, trying to push our new record and make sure we can come back to Australia soon.